Mass Effect 4 Impressions (Working Title)

There isn't a large amount of known information about this upcoming Mass Effect entry, but with what we do know and a little bit of intuition, we can make some great inferences and express our hopes and wishes. So, let's break it down.

What We Know

The biggest nugget of information so far is the lead role. BioWare has confirmed that the game will not star Commander Shepherd, who's story was told through the original trilogy. Lead writer Mac Walters stated in an interview with Complex that Shepard and companions won't necessarily relate, whatsoever.

"Well, I can't get into details, but the idea is that we have agreed to tell a story that doesn't relate necessarily to any of the Shepard events at all, whatsoever," he said.

"That's what we've been deciding for a while. But throughout it all, one of the key things is that it has to be Mass Effect. It can't just feel like a spin-off. It has to feel like a Mass Effect game at its heart, at its core. Just without the Shepard character or the Shepard specific companions."

Additionally, BioWare Montreal's studio directer, Yanick Roy, recently went to Twitter to inform the community that the Next Mass Effect installment would share many core features with Dragon Age: Inquisition stating,

"Don't Worry: we have a large and talented team, we started a while ago, and we are "borrowing" a lot of game systems from DA3."

"Yes, since we share engine, we can start from some of DA3's core systems instead of from scratch."

My guess is that this next Mass Effect title will introduce species selection into character creation and customization. I would love to make my journey through the deep space frontier as a Drell Assassin, or a think-first shoot-later Salarian. It would also be very interesting to see some larger species roles come into play, such as the Hanar or Elcor species. While I doubt these would be primary character possibilities, being able to bring them along as companions would be very entertaining and refreshing.

Species selection would also open up a wider variety of decision making, a key element in the Mass Effect franchise. If I were to play as a Drell, I would make decisions that would more benefit my species, as opposed to those players who pick maybe an Asari or Quarian character.

Check out the gallery below to see some great fan-made concept art! What are your opinions and hopes for the Next Mass Effect? Which Species would you play as? Leave your thoughts below and for everything Mass Effect, we've got you covered at Dope Since the 90's!